During our northward travel to Alaska, we spent several days in the Whitehorse area at the Hi-Country RV Park. We hiked Miles Canyon & Canon City Trails, toured the SS Klondike and walked the Millennium Trail, and hiked the Fish Lake Trail. As we continued our travels through Alaska, many other RV’ers we talked to recommended the Carcross-Tagish Loop from Whitehorse. We decided to check out this area on our homeward journey.
Unfortunately, the weather was not cooperative and it was pouring rain most of the day. We started our loop by heading south from the Alaska Highway on the South Klondike Highway just southeast of Whitehorse. The route from the Whitehorse to Carcross is 74 km (46 miles). Driving the South Klondike Highway to its termination will take you to Skagway. We stopped to check out Emerald Lake, which has a distinctive green shade due to sun shining off of calcium carbonate on the lakebed.
Emerald Lake along the S. Klondike Highway
Next up we stopped at the Carcross Crossing Trading Post Wildlife Museum. The museum boasts over 100 Yukon and ice age animals on display. We enjoyed walking through the displays.
Carcross Crossing Trading Post Wildlife Museum
Mountain Goats
Stone sheep
Woolly Mammoth
This polar bear was over 11 feet 8 inches nose to tail and weighed over 1700 pounds
Carcross Crossing Wildlife Museum also has a display on the history of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, offers sled dog cart rides, and has a petting zoo with sled dog puppies, goats, mini horses, alpacas, and mules. The fee of $8.50 CA per adult includes all areas but the sled dog cart ride. There is a bakery with coffee and ice-cream on site and a gift shop.
Royal Canadian Mounted Patrol History display
Author with an 11 week old sled dog puppy
Puppies having a good time
We continued on our journey toward Carcross and next stopped at the Carcross Desert, hailed as the “world’s smallest desert”. Carcross Desert is one square mile of rolling dunes. Though not technically a desert, as the area is too humid for desert designation, this geological anomaly is still an unusual sight in the region. There are hiking trails in the area which would be fun to explore on a drier day.
The Carcross Desert
Next up was the small town of Carcross. There are numerous gift shops, a visitor centre, and a walking tour of the older buildings and the town. The area was originally home to the Tagish people. In 1899, the community was settled and officially named “Caribou Crossing” in reference to a spot where the woodland caribou crossed the narrows. The mail was being confused with another Caribou Crossing, so in 1904 the name was changed to Carcross. It sits along a common route used during the Klondike Gold Rush and is a stop on the White Pass & Yukon Route (railroad) which runs from Skagway to Whitehorse.
Gold Rushers passed through this area on their journey to the Klondike
The longest operating business in Carcross, Matthew Watson General Store, is also one of the longest operating in the Yukon. The store was bought by Matthew Watson in 1911 and was run by his family until 1982. When the new owners took over, there were still elegant top hats in silk lined boxes and dusty jars of liniment promising cures for everything from sprains to baldness.
Longest operating business in Carcross
St. Saviour’s Anglican Church is the oldest in Carcross. It was constructed in 1904 and moved to its present location in 1911. The rest of the walking tour includes early cabins/houses, the RCMP barracks, and Post Office.
St. Saviour’s Anglican Chirch
Carcross was hailed as an excellent mountain biking area by Outside Magazine in 2013. There is over 500 miles of singletrack which apparently “rival’s Vancouver’s North Shore”. There are several hiking options in the region, including the Dunes Trails, Sam McGee Trail, Montana Mountain, Paddy Peak, and Brute Mountain.
Totem Pole in Carcross
After visiting Carcross we headed across Tagish Road toward Jake’s Corner on the Alaska Highway. This stretch is 54 km (33.5 miles) and travels through the heart of Yukon’s Southern Lakes region. The small town of Tagish is located on the banks of the Tagish River. There is some lodging here, but not much else.
Tagish River Bridge
The return trip from Jake’s Corner to Whitehorse on the Alaska Highway is 85 km (52.8 miles) in length. It travels past Marsh Lake and over the Yukon River. On a clearer day, the scenery through the mountains would be spectacular. We could just make out the mountain tops with a fresh dusting of snow through the clouds.
